Where do we come from, where are we heading?

I must confess, however, that when I saw that I was asked to speak about - “the journey of Botswana, where we come from; where we are, who we are, and where we are heading” - I wondered where does one begin? It struck me as a topic that could fill several books!

Given our country’s relative success over the past five decades in combining adherence to democracy and the rule of law with economic growth accompanied by notable advances in human development, I have often been asked what accounts for our country’s relative success. What has set us apart from others?